Finding the Main Idea (QUIA)

The peanut is a humble plant with hundreds of functions. Most peanuts are roasted in their shells and lightly salted. About half the peanuts eaten in the United States are ground into a thick paste called peanut butter. The rich oil made from peanuts is good for frying foods and is used for oiling machines and making soaps and paint. Even peanut shells are used to make plastics and to fertilize soil.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• About the many uses of the Peanut

• How much Peanut Butter is eaten in the United States

• Why Peanut Oil is used for frying

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Sharks have a keen sense of hearing and can smell blood from almost 2,000 yards away. Sharks also have a special system of channels in their skin that helps them feel the vibrations of a splashing swimmer. We know that in clear water, sharks can see dinner from about 50 feet away. If you ever spot a shark, always swim away smoothly!

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• How well sharks hear

• How sharks sense food

• When to swim away smoothly

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Doctors think that wearing red-tinted glasses can relieve sadness. Some people get very moody and sad in the winter. They may be affected by brief days. Bright lights help some people but not everyone. The reddish light coming through rose-colored glasses seems to make people feel happy.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• Why happy people wear rose-colored glasses

• When some people get sad

• How colored glasses may help people feel better

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Many people in India don't eat beef, but they still find many uses for cattle. Cows provide milk for drinking and for other dairy products. Young cattle are used for plowing fields and carrying big loads.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• Which cows plow fields

• Where some people don't eat beef

• How cows are used in India

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

The diamond is a hard element that can cut through almost any metal. That is why it is often used for industrial purposes. Whole diamond stones are set into tools. Dust from crushed diamond stones is used for coating the edges of tools. Care must be taken when exposing diamonds to extreme heat because heat can turn them into graphite. Graphite is the soft material used in the manufacture of lead for pencils.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• How diamonds are used in industry

• How to turn diamonds into graphite

• When diamonds are used in pencils

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

The harmless hognose snake is a champion bluffer. When this snake is threatened, it hisses and acts as if it will bite. If you don't run away, the hognose snake "plays dead." It rolls over on its back, wiggling around as if it's in distress. Then it "dies" with its mouth open and tongue hanging out. If you turn it on its stomach, the snake will roll over on its back again.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• How dangerous the Hognose snake is

• How the Hognose snake bluffs

• What scares the Hognose snake

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

When you take a multiple-choice test, do you ever change your answers? Some scientists think that it is a smart thing to do. They found out that most students who change their answers make the right decision and make better scores on their tests.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• How to score better on a multiple-choice test

• What scientists think about answers

• Which answers to change on a test

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Imagine testing glass by throwing chickens at it? Sometimes fast moving airplanes fly through flocks of birds. If the birds hit the windshield of a plane, the glass could shatter and cause a crash. Airplane manufacturers have made a chicken cannon that fires rubber chickens at glass windshields. If the windshield doesn't break when the rubber chicken hits it, the designers know that the glass can withstand the force of a real crash.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• Why birds can be dangerous to airplanes

• How big a bird has to be to damage an airplane

• How a chicken cannon tests glass

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

The Marines had a problem in World War II. Orders were sent in code, but the enemy kept learning the code. Nothing could be kept secret. Then someone thought the Navajo soldiers could help the Marines. Since very few other people could speak Navajo, this language was used as a code. No one on the enemy side knew Navajo, so the messages stayed secret.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• How Navajo people kept secrets

• How the Marines used Navajo as a code

• Why the original code was used

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Probably the best-known rodeo cowboy in the world is Larry Mahan. Mahan was the national champion six times before he was 30. He was good at every event and was so successful that he had his own plane. When he got too old to be in the rodeo, he didn't stop doing rodeo work. He started a rodeo school.

What is this passage MOSTLY about?

• Where to ride bulls and rope calves

• About the most famous rodeo cowboy in the world

• Where to go to rodeo school

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2